Deep Burn (Burned Duet 2)

“How is she?” Lara asked, and I wasn’t sure how to answer her because I didn’t really know how Elodie was. She’d blown hot, cold, scared, and fine, but I knew deep down she was putting on a front. She was trying to be how she normally was. She was pretending. And for right now, I let her think I believed her act. As soon as we were away from here, she’d be able to deal with it properly—I hoped.

“As good as she can be.” I moved toward the door and unlocked it. “I made some calls on the way here. New door will be fitted on Friday.” I stepped inside, not sure what I was going to find. The police had only handed it back yesterday once I’d gotten bail, but I should have known it would be ransacked. Tattoo ink was spilled over several surfaces, our machines pulled out, and chairs on their sides. They had no reason to search down here, but they had anyway, and I had no doubt it was because of who Knox’s dad was.

“Motherfuckers,” Dad gritted out, and I nodded in agreement.

“It’s okay, we’ll clean it up in no time,” Jez said, but his deep tone spoke of how pissed off he was. It wasn’t just my equipment kept in the shop, but his and Lara’s too.

I pushed my hand through my hair and gripped on to it as I glanced around. The large mirror where our clients checked out their tattoos had been unscrewed, and several of our drawings had been torn off the walls. I couldn’t deal with this right now. “I’m going away,” I blurted out. I flicked my gaze to Lara and then Jez. “Elodie needs to get away from here for a bit and…she needs me. I need to be there and—”

“Ain’t gotta say another word, Ash,” Lara interrupted. “She needs you more. Tell us what needs doing here and we’ll get it done.”

“I’ll…make a list.” I blew out a breath, not knowing where to start. I had no doubt Elodie’s apartment would be in even worse condition, but I couldn’t worry about it right then, I just needed to get her some things and get back to her. The quicker I was, the sooner we could get out on the road. “I need to head up…” I left the words hanging in the air as I made my way to the back of the store and to the bottom of the stairs which led up to Elodie’s apartment.

I promised her she’d be safe here. I’d let her believe nothing could get her. But she’d been a moving target. I’d turned my back for a second and he’d pounced. Fuck. How could someone do this? How could they want to hurt someone so bad that they’d hurt them so much?

I didn’t understand it. I’d never understand it.

“I’m gonna help them start to clear up,” Dad said from behind me, but I didn’t turn to look at him. My gaze was firmly planted on the half-open door at the top of the stairs. They hadn’t even closed it behind them.

“I’ll get some of Elodie’s things and then we can go.”

“Okay, son. Take your time.”

I didn’t want to take my time, I wanted to be in and out of there as soon as I could, but my feet weren’t working at their normal pace. My body felt heavier and heavier as I took each step, and when I finally made it to the top, all I could see was what I had four nights ago. Knox on top of Elodie. Knox taking the last thing she held. Knox ripping her apart in more ways than one.

Blood stained several areas of the floor, and I knew without a doubt which one was Knox’s and which one was Elodie’s. I stared at both stains for several seconds, then finally moved on to the bedroom. It was the only place which looked like it hadn’t been touched. I wasn’t sure how I felt about going through Elodie’s things. I was invading her privacy, but I wasn’t going to let her come here and pack everything up. We only needed the necessities, but as I opened up the drawers, I realized she didn’t own much.

I packed up the few clothes she had, including her dance wear, and moved to the bathroom to get her toiletries, and before I knew it, I was heading back through the living room.

“I called Ford,” a voice said, and I whipped my head around to the kitchen. Dad stood there, his arms folded across his chest, and his lips in a straight line. If that wasn’t enough to tell me he wasn’t happy, then the gruff tone of his voice surely was. “He’s gonna find out who did the search and why.”

I snorted. “We all know why, Dad.” I moved past the first stain and halted next to the second one—the one that was smaller, the one Elodie had caused.

“Yeah, we do.” I heard Dad’s footsteps near. “But the motherfucker has no idea who he’s dealing with. His dad may be a judge, but he doesn’t have half of the damn connections I have.” I heard the threat loud and clear, and although I’d never seen this side of my dad, I’d heard stories of it. He may have been in his early seventies, but he was as much of a badass as he was when he was forty. I wasn’t in this alone. Elodie wasn’t in this alone. It was clear we had people on our side, but I wasn’t sure whether it would help. I had to go back to court in six months, and more importantly, I had to help Elodie deal with everything.

“I need to get out of here,” I croaked out, not able to tear my gaze away from the stain. It’d never come out, no matter what we did to it.

“We’ll fix it up, son.”

I shook my head. “I’m not even sure I want to fix it up.” My stomach churned, and the nerves that had appeared as we left the driveway of my parents’ house hadn’t let up. I didn’t want to be here. I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted to be here again.

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“Take some time and think it over,” my dad said, almost as if he could read my mind. I’d spent years building up my clientele, and I wasn’t sure if they’d follow me if I moved to a different part of town. But at this point, the thought of staying in the building had my stomach churning. Dad’s hand clasped my shoulder and squeezed. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

I blew out a breath. “I need to help clean up and—”

“I’ll help them, and then I’ll get Leo and Cade to come over tomorrow. We’ll get it back to how it was, son. Then you can go from there.” I glanced at him and felt like the little boy who’d just fallen off his bike after taking his training wheels off. “You look after Elodie, and we’ll take care of everything else.”

“Dad—”

“Don’t need to say anything. All you need to do is get in your car, go home, and get your own things.” He raised his brow, waiting for me, and I finally nodded. “I’ll meet you back home in an hour.”

I didn’t wait for him to say another word as I walked out of the apartment and back downstairs. I could hear Lara and Jez talking, but I couldn’t bring myself to go back into the main part where they were. I was considering closing the shop down and moving somewhere else. I had no idea if they would come with me or not. This wasn’t just my livelihood but theirs too.

I took a step toward the back door, knowing my car had been moved there. I’d left it parked on an angle in front of the shop that night, but my dad had come and moved it around back while I was in jail. In jail. I couldn’t believe I was having that thought. My entire life I’d tried to always do the right thing. I’d trained in MMA. I’d fought each of my fights fairly. I’d been to war for my country. I’d never questioned an order. I’d watched the people I cared about die. Yet, it was that singular thought that had me stumbling out the back door and toward my car.

This was never in my plan. I was meant to make a name for myself as a tattoo artist. I was meant to find a nice girl and live happily ever after. That was what the fairy tales spoke of, right? But I somehow always knew my life wouldn’t be plain sailing. I was pushing everything down and dealing with what was in front of me right at that moment. It didn’t matter that the slamming of the car door had me jumping. It didn’t matter that the roar of my engine caused my hands to shake.